


I Can Resist Everything Except Temptation

by dragonboymalfoy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bookstores, M/M, Muggle Culture, Muggle Literature (and lots of reference's!)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-11 20:10:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17453480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonboymalfoy/pseuds/dragonboymalfoy
Summary: Harry stumbles upon Draco in a bookstore, and a muggle one at that! Draco knows how to charm Harry, even though it's been a few years...An easy breezy story about two men with incredible chemistry!(More chapters coming soon!)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *Disclaimer*  
> This is a work of fan fiction in which I use characters from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J. K. Rowling. These characters are not mine.
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy this story! If you'd like to read more, please tell me so ;)

Harry was shivering, it was snowing and he had forgotten his scarf. He made his way through the masses of people with enormous shopping bags while glancing into the displays of the shops. Harry was looking for a muggle bookstore, Hermione had convinced him to start reading muggle books. She claimed that reading a novel was a great way to relax before going to bed and that it would help him fall asleep. Harry couldn’t say anything against that, he _did_ need to sleep better and Hermione knew it.

It was cold and Harry wanted to go home, even though home meant his grim flat with a noisy neighbor. At home, he had at least a warm cup of tea and a fireplace, and that was all he wanted at the moment. 

Lost in sulky thoughts, Harry almost walked past a bookstore. Relieved, he went into the shop, mostly because he wanted to escape the cold.

The shop was quite small, which was probably why he almost walked past it. It was warm and it smelled like old books, which made sense. There were books everywhere Harry looked, left, right and straight ahead. In the middle of the shop stood a table with a sign that said _‘The best books of February’_. Somewhere in the left corner of the shop stood a counter. 

Harry was lost, to say the least. He decided to just look around and pretend to search for a book, he didn’t want to seem awkward. However, he felt very uncomfortable. Harry simply didn’t know what to do in a muggle bookstore. He didn’t have a specific list of books, he had asked Hermione for one but she had said that it was completely up to him, that his taste might be very different from hers. He had no clue what to look for or what to buy. He heard Hermione’s words she said to him two days ago in his head: _“Ask one of the employees for recommendations, they know all the books, it’s their job.”_ Harry argued that Hermione basically knew all the books too, but she protested and said that she didn’t even know all of the wizarding books. 

And now he was alone, in a muggle bookstore. Harry figured that it would be best to check out who stood behind the counter _if_ he were to ask for recommendations. He really preferred it when someone had a nice and kind aura. He still thought it was bizarre to ask someone, they would find out eventually that he never read a muggle book, which wasn’t exactly normal for a 26-year-old ‘muggle’.

Harry had made up his mind, he made a strategy of how to figure out who was behind the counter without drawing attention to himself. His strategy was to browse the bookstore on the left side. Eventually, he would reach a bookcase, that was standing across the left side of the store. It didn’t touch the left wall for about 30 inches, so there was still room to walk between the wall and the bookcase. Harry would stand next to the bookcase, so he couldn’t be seen by the person behind the counter. Harry would look at the books on the bookshelves in the wall, and when he’d grab a book from a bookshelf he would glance to his right to see who stood behind the counter. It was too bad that he didn’t become an Auror.

It was a perfect plan, everything went well except for one thing. When Harry glanced to his right, he looked right in the eyes of the person behind the counter. 

Draco Malfoy. 

Harry recognized him immediately, and let us be fair, how could he not? Draco wore a woollen turtleneck that was so dark blue, it lightened up his whole complexion. With that, he had paired gey slacks, the ones that had taken forever at the dry-cleaning place and which he was finally able to wear again. Draco knew he looked good, he always does. But in that exact moment when he locked eyes with the one person he thought he would never see again, he was damned glad he looked as good as he did. Not that he wanted to impress him or anything, just for confidence. At least, that’s what he told himself.

And being truthful as we are, Draco was wearing glasses, and Harry wasn’t sure how he was still a living man after looking at his long-forgotten arch-nemesis. His sleeves were rolled up, making the Dark Mark visible. It made Harry feel a little queasy, that he had recovered so well from the war and that he wasn’t scared to show it, it hadn’t been the same for Harry. After the war, he hadn’t been doing so well. He and Ginny broke up, and now that Voldemort was defeated he had lost his purpose. He was trying to live in the shadows, away from the press and the fame. 

Anyhow, Harry had lived his life and had completely forgotten about Draco Malfoy until now. 

Draco was the first to recover from the shock. He walked up to Harry and leaned casually against the bookcase, where Harry had been hiding behind, put one hand in his pocket and threw an intrigued look at Harry. Harry could swear he saw Draco’s eyes smirking. Those glasses didn’t make it any better.

“Fancy seeing you in here, Potter. What are you doing in a muggle bookstore?” Draco asked. Harry could definitely hear a smirk in his voice.

“I… er, I need a book. What are _you_ doing here, Malfoy?” Harry faltered. He didn’t know why he was nervous or ashamed, but he was. 

“I run this bookstore, if you hadn’t noticed that already. I’m hard to miss, after all.” He said with a mischievous glint in his eyes and tilted his head to the left, looking playfully at Harry. If they run into each other like this, he might as well enjoy it. An effortless target Harry was, as he gets flustered so easily. Some things never do change Draco thought to himself. 

“Erm, no I hadn’t noticed you, actually,” Harry responded, feeling a bit embarrassed. He could only hope that Draco hadn’t noticed him before either. 

“Well Potter, what are you looking for?”

“That’s the thing, you see, I err, well, I don’t know. Hermione sent me.”

“Ah, never read a muggle book then, I take it? I’ll grab a few classics which aren’t too hard to read. Just wait here.” And with that, Draco was off. Harry watched Draco walking to the back of the store with so much grace, Harry couldn’t tear his eyes away. 

Draco was back before Harry had a chance to calm down his nerves. Harry didn’t know where these nerves came from, but he supposed it was because of Draco. He didn’t know why he felt like this, but he didn’t have much time to ponder that question.

Draco came back holding a pile of books, resting his chin on the upper book to make sure they didn’t fall out of his hands. “I’ve got Jane Austen, to sooth the inner romantic,” Draco said with a wink, “The Cather in the Rye I would also recommend, though I must say you had quite a different life when you were seventeen. And then we’ve got Harper Lee and Fitzgerald, easy to begin with, that one, oh and we’ve got Dickens too before I forget. Ring a bell?”

“Er–“

“Right, well, I’ll just start easy then. I’ll give you The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby, and you can come back later and tell me if any of it was to your liking and I’d recommend you some more.” He lowered his voice, “well, at least I’d like you to come back.” Draco put up his prettiest smile that he knew was irresistible. Batting his eyelashes couldn’t hurt either. He did want Potter to come back after all, how could he not with those broad shoulders and that fine arse in denim jeans? Though Draco had to admit that it would look considerably better in trousers of fine fabric.

Harry had snapped out of his daze, and could finally think clearly. “Yes, those books sound good. If I like them I’ll come back for more. I’d like to pay now, please.” 

“Oh no matter, they’re on the house. Beginners sale and all.”

“But…, it’s no problem really. I’ve got enough money. I can pay.”

“It’s quite alright, there you go,” and with that Draco handed the books over. “Enjoy your reading. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to help other customers. I’m quite busy with running a shop and such.” And just for the sake of it, he added, “goodbye Harry. I hope to see you soon.” And with that he was off.  
Harry was gobsmacked. Since when was Malfoy so nice? And did he just say ‘I hope to see you soon’?  
Putting off his thoughts, Harry adjusted his coat and walked out of the shop, going home.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter up!  
> Bit of a short one, but it's something I had to get through. Hope you enjoy!Xxx  
> (And if you do, please leave a kudos or comment :))

“It was Malfoy, Hermione, Malfoy! Acting all sunshine and smiles, he _has_ to be up to something,” Harry said raising his voice through the Floo. “And looking bloody fit as well, he can have everything, can’t he? He didn’t even _seem_ to be aware of his Mark! It’s not fair!” He cried out.

Harry knew he was being irrational but seeing Malfoy had shaken him through his core. Hermione, the darling that she was, waited patiently for him to finish his rant. “Are you done?” She asked. 

“I don’t know, maybe,” Harry sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “It’s just hard seeing him, being reminded of everything. And he seemed to be doing so well. And I’m just… I haven’t moved one inch.”

“Oh Harry,” she sighed and looked at him with a tender look in her eyes. His wellbeing was a very sensitive subject. Hermione had been trying to get Harry on track again, she saw that he was stuck, stuck in his own life and scared to break through. He may be snobby sometimes, but she knows that he really does care about what people, in other words, the whole wizarding community in England thinks about him.

“Well, at least I got free books, right?” Harry joked, trying to lighten the mood. He knows he’s never been very good at taking care of himself and some confrontations like today make him see that. If only Hermione wouldn’t worry about him so much, it hurts to see that his discomfort in his own life troubles her. But alas, she’s always been such a good friend that she does precisely that. 

“And you got to see a fit Draco Malfoy with glasses on, next time I’m coming with you.” Hermione flashed him a smile and pointed her finger at him whilst looking back over her shoulder. She lowered her voice, “also, don’t tell Ron I said that,” she whispered jokingly. 

“If I had a pound for every time I heard you say those words…” Harry sighed with twinkles in his eyes. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh don’t you dare, young man, or I will make you regret it.” 

He threw his hands up. “Oh I don’t doubt it that you will,” he said, smiling. “Anyway, it was nice talking to you, but I’ve got books to read. I’ll see you Sunday at the Burrow, yeah?”

“Yes. Bye Harry!” 

He watched her disappear in the flames. He had some homework to catch up on.

 

Draco opened the door. Warm damp air overwhelmed him when he stepped inside. He already regretted his choice of leather pants. He wanted to be bold and to be honest, could use the confidence, but leather clings way too much. Especially in this greasy bar where no-one knows what the word hygiene means. Too bad this was specifically what he needed. He needed lots of people who didn’t know his name, who didn’t know his past. He needed a drink, a strong one of such. As in the song from the Eagles: “some dance to remember, some dance to forget”. Draco, he danced to forget.

Not that the sweaty crowd did much. He knew that he couldn’t drink and dance his thoughts out of his head. It hadn’t been the first time that he tried. Unsatisfied, he ordered one last drink and then called it a night. He didn’t want Harry Potter lookalikes eyeing him. He now saw them everywhere. 

Walking home through the cold, he might be grateful for the leather pants after all. They do create a warm protective layer around his legs. 

No matter how desperately he tried to push away his thoughts, he knew it was only a matter of time. Potter had always had that impact on him. This static connection used to be out of hatred which was now… He didn’t know what it was. But he knew he wouldn’t be done with him soon. 

At home, he was getting ready for a taste of agony. Drawing a bath, he poured himself some wine. It was the only thing that made this his head a little more bearable. 

He was proud of how he handled his disturbance. But that didn’t indicate that his quiet life would continue as it had before. He was shaken up, he had to reorganize. Along with the ancient history that was about to be brought up. It was inevitable for Draco to think about his wrongdoings. 

He remembered that he wanted to befriend Harry so much when they were eleven, and that compulsion hadn’t faded. Draco wanted Harry Potter’s respect so badly, he wanted forgiveness. He had tried to come to terms with his offenses, but he could only come so far if he didn’t reach out to the people in his past. 

He had created a whole new life for him, not many people listened to him, let alone forgive and embrace him as a part of society. So he left and went to muggle London and learned as much as he could about it. Most of it he learned the hard way, though. It was a whole different kind of living. What he least expected, was that he eventually had come to love his life. He loved the carelessness, muggles made choices based on how they could be the happiest.

Draco learned to differentiate the good from the bad, what was rightful or not. He learned to opt for things that made _him_ happy. And he was. He started as a wandering boy in a bookstore, the owner, a very sweet lady called Beatrice could use a helping hand and that’s how he got his job. A few years after that she retired, but not before she had shown Draco the ropes of owning a shop and pass the store along to him. 

Beatrice had come to grow on Draco. She noticed that he deeply wanted to see him as a hard working man. He was honest, something he had said once to her that _“he was trying to make up for his mistakes.”_ She never asked what his mistakes were, but Beatrice knew he had no lousy intentions. She could safely hand him the bookstore and sell even more books than they had before. She granted Draco everything.

Happy. His own bookstore with an unstopping pile of new incoming books to read. Helping customers to find a worthy book. He savoured his life, it was something he hadn’t done in quite some time. And then came along Harry Potter, the one person that could agitate Draco.


End file.
